Middletown Barnes & Noble

Yesterday CJ Robison, Elaine Snavely, and I had a signing at the Barnes & Noble in Middletown, RI, near Newport. The audience was great. I think it was the best question and answer period I've experienced during my two+ years on the book tour. The questions included whether CJ and Elaine would recommend the military as a career for women, what it's like as a mother to come home from the battlefield, and should the law excluding women in combat be revised since they are in combat.

Included in the audience was a man whose son was killed in Iraq. His son worked in maintenance and he said it didn't matter what your gender. If you're over there, in Iraq or Afghanistan, you're in combat. One woman's son is in Iraq and is coming home for two weeks of R&R. She asked Elaine and CJ for advice. What could she, the mom, do for her son. CJ said he'll need sleep, TV, food, and beer. I and the audience appreciated CJ and Elaine's candor and honesty when responding to questions. One couple called the reading an "inspiring" evening. A Vietnam vet described it as "profound."

For me the day and evening were emotional. We spent the day in Newport, eating lunch at the Mooring. CJ ate a lobster; Elaine and I ate lobster rolls. We drove by the mansions and sat on a wall overlooking the water. It was fun for me to listen to them share stories and connect. It was also humbling. These women have been through so much physical and emotional pain, yet here they are with me on the book tour educating the public about what they went through on the battlefield and when they returned home. They continue to be my heroes.

Today we are going to the University of Massachusetts Law School at Andover to film an educational documentary about The Girls Come Marching Home. The school filmed a documentary about Band of Sisters that won national and international awards. They are hoping for a repeat!